European otters

Otter feedings daily at 10 a.m., 1.30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

The Waldviertel houses Austria's most important otter population. Only 20% of our federal territory are populated with otters.
Originally, the otter was very common in Europe, but in the last century its stock has been badly depleted. The European Otter remains one of the rare and strictly protected species of mammals.

Otters were hunted for many years because of their coveted fur, so that they are finally almost extinct. On a square centimeter of skin, an otter has about 50,000 hairs in order to protect him perfectly against cold and wet. Otters are active throughout the year, they do not hibernate.

Typical for members of the weasel family otters eat very versatile. They live in water bodies such as ponds and rivers and hunt for prey in the water: Besides fish the otter eats frogs and crustaceans, molluscs and insects as well as small water birds.

At the moment in the UnterWasserReich "Aska & Otto"  are shown in their natural habitat.